Legends from New Zealand held that there was a large predator bird, known as
pouakai, that was big enough to carry human beings off to its nest or den. Some people associated stories of Pouakai with the
giant flightless Moa,
extinct in 1773. Others thought it might be another extinct giant bird on the
South Island,
Haast's Eagle (
Harpagornis moorei). The eagle, locally known as Te Hokioi, has been extinct for 500 years,
overlapping with the early settlers by some 200 years. There was some speculation that the giant eagle was a scavenger
due to partially protected nasal openings, which are benefit to protect nasal cavities when digging into carcasses, analogous to features found on
accipitrid vultures. Recent studies have provide
there is proof that the Haast's Eagle was a fearsome predator, with
talons like tigers and the ability to dive on prey at 80 kilometers per hour (50 mph).
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Sep 16, 2009 -
22 comments
100 Things Your Kids May Never Know About a rather comprehensive list, ranging from the gone-and-forgotten (22: Using jumpers to set IRQs) to the not-yet-extinct-but going-there (41: Phone books and Yellow Pages). But missing a few like 101: wired.com not being a nostalgia site and 102: getting punished for calling your dad a geek.
posted by wendell
on Jul 22, 2009 -
92 comments
The Thylacine Museum is a true labour of love. Everything you could possibly want to know about the thylacine (AKA "Tasmanian tiger" or "Tasmanian wolf"). Able to open its mouth
incredibly wide, sit upright on its hind legs
like a kangaroo, and a foremost example of convergent evolution (extremely similar to placental mammals like wolves, yet marsupial), the thylacine was a fascinating animal. Hunted to extinction in less than a hundred years (
or not), a
cloning project is underway to try and resurrect it. This site has everything:
videos, Java-riffic
skull diagrams, pictures of
mummified thylacines who died over 4,000 years ago, and pictures of
Benjamin, the last captive thylacine who died in 1936.
posted by biscotti
on Aug 1, 2002 -
24 comments
Animals thought extinct found in remote Cambodian jungle: British scientists have found a wilderness in the Cardamom region of Cambodia where exotic species, some though to be
extinct, have been found. These include the Siamese
crocodile, the wolf snake (a new species so named because of
its dog-like fangs), large populations of tigers and Asian
elephants, and the gower, a forest cow. Ironically, the habitat was protected from significant human
intrusion because it was a longtime Khmer Rouge stronghold
and also because routes lead to and from it are landmined.
posted by jhiggy
on Oct 5, 2000 -
6 comments
